March 14, 2013 (Cary, NC) — Abstract artist Don Mertz of Cary, NC, recently delivered a second donation of one of his large, original abstract paintings to the Town of Cary: “Eye Candy IV,” a 60-inch tall by 40-inch wide explosion of color and texture rendered in mixed media on canvas.

In April of 2010, Mertz first donated an abstract painting to the Town entitled “Good! Bad? Ugly?” He had just closed a retrospective of his work in the Page Walker Arts and History Center, sponsored by the Town of Cary Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources department. Denise Dickens, the Town’s Public Arts Coordinator, attended the exhibition and commented that she liked that particular painting.

“So I offered to donate it to the city,” he said. “It was the right thing to do given Cary’s support of the arts and artists.”

Donating the “Eye Candy IV”painting followed an email Mertz sent to Dickens last November after the unveiling of the new “Monumental Fire Sculpture” by Danish artist Nina Hole in downtown Cary. (To read a Cary Citizen article on the sculpture: http://bit.ly/RxJ4xP)

“With the Fire Sculpture (along with all the other neat visual and performing arts events and exhibitions), you have transformed — no vaulted! — Cary into a new category,” Mertz wrote in the email. “No longer the ‘beige’ city of the past, now, with the Fire Sculpture, we have become the ‘red hot’ city for the 21st century and beyond… [And] to put my art where my mouth is, I would be happy to donate a painting that perhaps portrays the colorful, exciting, and vibrant spirit of the new Cary.”

The Town accepted his offer.

Don Mertz moved to Cary from New York City 12 years ago. Since then, his abstract paintings have been included in many solo- and group exhibitions throughout the Triangle region and sold to numerous art collectors. For more information, visit www.mertzart.com.

Don Mertz is a North Carolina-based abstract artist. A former Marine and IBM branch manager, he attended the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and The Art Students League in New York City where he lived for 25 years. He is a member of the Visual Arts Exchange of Raleigh, the Fine Arts League of Cary, and the Durham Art Guild. He is represented by ArtSource Fine Art Gallery in North Hills, Raleigh, NC, and by Joe Rowand Art Fine Art Services in Chapel Hill, NC. For more information: